In Edmonton, Derek Ryan and Connor McDavid scored in the first period on Friday night to stake the Oilers to a 2-0 lead. Despite the apparent requirement to surrender those leads in the NHL, the Oilers bounced back for a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had an empty-net goal in the third period to give the Oilers some breathing room.
“I thought tonight everyone was going and we played a pretty solid 60 minutes,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “[Skinner] made some big saves and was solid for us, but overall I thought it was one of our best 60-minute performances.”
Stuart Skinner made 42 saves in the Oilers win.
Edmonton improved to 16-12-0.
After the Oilers took the two-goal lead, Joel Eriksson Ek got one back to make it 2-1 headed to the middle frame.
The goal came after Mats Zuccarello‘s marker weas waved off on review.
“We had it on the bench that we thought it was pitchforked and it was goalie interference,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “We were confident in our process and the understanding of the rule, and we made the call.”
Zuccarello tied it early in the second period to erase the 2-0 lead.
The Wild dropped to 13-11-2.
“We did some good things in the game,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “It’s not like the game’s lopsided. It’s just they score a couple power-plays goals, special teams. Should we have got more? Obviously, we get a 5-on-3. Could we have collected another somewhere? For sure, whatever we had, four or five [power plays].
“We got enough at the net, it just wasn’t enough quality to score goals in the NHL.”
Edmonton recovered enough to get a goal from Kailer Yamamoto, his first of the season, form a 3-2 lad entering the third.
“When you’re getting contributions throughout the lineup, it’s awesome,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “It provides momentum for the team. You get off to the quicker start, I think it just gives confidence to everybody through the lineup. And a lot of guys are playing not more than they had at the beginning of the year, and I think it’s really important for a team effort.”
Leon Draisaitl added a marker at 3:23 of the third to make it 4-2.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves in the Minnesota loss.
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